


Fortune's Chance

by Cody_Thomas



Category: Captain America (Movies), Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Torchwood
Genre: First Date, Kissing, M/M, Missed Opportunities, POV jumping, TBC?, Tumblr Prompt, because reasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2013-08-29
Packaged: 2017-12-24 23:31:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cody_Thomas/pseuds/Cody_Thomas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seventy years ago Captain Steve Rogers missed a date, and now that things have settled a bit he decides to keep the date he missed and drink to the memory of Captain Jack Harkness, who turns out not to be as dead as records say he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fortune's Chance

**Author's Note:**

> I may or may not continue this, this is full rough draft mode, no beta, barely a spell check, but if I don't post it now I doubt I will ever drum up the courage to do so. I will be coming back to polish this up. Any feedback whether I should continue this or not would be welcome.

For the sake of continuity references we are pretending Steve's story line happened earlier. I promise it will make sense. If I decide to continue this, it will be because the readers woke the bunny back up.

 

***** Steve *****  
The world was safe, at least for now. New York had one heck of a clean up project ahead of her, but he had been told to take some down time and not make his face too public at the moment. The Avengers were infamous, and he was almost as recognizable as Stark, so he'd been ordered to keep a low profile for awhile.

The world had changed a lot, in ways he didn't really understand, but he couldn't bury his head in the sand and pretend it didn't exist either. He needed to catch up and not just drift along aimlessly.

So he jumped on his motorcycle after the group disbanded and went to try and figure out how he might fit in to this world that had grown past him seemingly overnight.

Stark had given him a phone and a 'tablet' before he left, with JARVIS voice activation and a million other things he didn't really understand what they even were, let alone their purpose, or how to work them.

"It's so you don't seem like a dinosaur trapped in a twenty-five year old midwestern boy scout supermodel. This is your lifeline, it has everything you need; books, movies, internet, music, camera, GPS, wifi. JARVIS is your interpreter. If you get stuck ask JARVIS, any question you have he can probably find the answer unless you wax philosophical spiritualist or something. I even put him on beginners mode for you so his answers aren't beyond your early twentieth century comprehension. And everything comes with Bluetooth, ladies love guys with Bluetooth, trust me. You charge them by plugging this into the wall, and this into the device. You're off to discover a brave new world young Padawan, Live Long and Prosper, and don't tell anyone on my Tumblr account that I just said that or the internet will explode in either a ship or flame war of epic proportions."

He wasn't about to mention he hadn't understood any part of that reference, Stark wouldn't have listened anyway, so he took the devices, loaded up his bike and went off to explore this new America and his place in it.

First thing to discover was any survivors from his past, or at least where people were buried, he had some respects to pay, and some goodbyes to say.

 

***** Jack *****  
There was a curse to being immortal or deathless, or whatever in the hell he was, and that was the fact that sooner or later you had to watch everyone else you love die. That's why he had never gotten attached, always kept it casual, never really risked his heart until Ianto. The man had slipped past every defense and planted himself directly in the middle of his heart, a heart that felt like it had died along with the man. He had known better, and still he had done it, so he had no one to blame but himself. And then to have the next major thing after losing Ianto be that people couldn't DIE, it was cruel. Who wouldn't think about the ones they had wanted to save? He wondered if The Doctor ever wished that he could die for good too.

But he couldn't think like that. Not only would Ianto never forgive him, but it wouldn't do any good anyway, and besides, he had a job to do. Death had Ianto, that was the truth and it was time to accept it and move on. And maybe one day he'd be able to join him.

He was in New York now, it seemed a temporarily stable rift had occurred for an unknown reason, allowing a massive alien invasion that had been taken care of by some group no one had heard of before. He was working unofficially as a consultant, seeing what the beings had been and perhaps if any technology was recoverable or able to be useful. It had been a long time since he had been in New York, not since World War II. He'd flirted with a handsome young soldier named Steve and made a date with him that he'd never shown up for. The restaurant was still around that he had been going to take him to, maybe he'd go there tonight, have dinner and a bottle of wine, reminisce on some not so painful memories and see where the evening ended up.

He got back to work.

 

***** Steve *****  
Steve spent half the afternoon in cemeteries, leaving flowers, saluting comrades in arms, letting go of a past that he hadn't been around to experience, time having gone on without him. It was surreal looking at the dates and realizing he was supposed to be in his nineties, old enough to have great grandchildren, and here he was in his prime.

For some reason, he remembered what he had told Fury when he had seen the sun in this new world for the first time, a date he'd never gotten to go on. It would have been a risky, crazy date that would have threatened to turn his whole world upside down, especally in those days. A date with a man, one who had been unlike anyone else he had ever met.

"JARVIS, status on World War Two Captain, Jack Harkness. Military branch and division unknown."

"Captain Jack Harkness of the British Royal Air Force, one hundred thirty third squadron, located, Status Deceased. Died January twenty-first nineteen forty one in the United Kingdom. Would you like the exact location?"

"No thank you. Cause of death?"

"It is listed as a training accident, Sir."

Where would he be now if he had gone through with that date? Jack had had courage, more than most to be openly flirting with a man in those days, something that could get you beaten, arrested, or worse. And now homosexuality was openly legal, they even had parades about it. He couldn't leave flowers on his grave, but he could still keep that date, in honor of the man's courage, drink a toast to him, he'd died only a few weeks after he had met him.

"Jarvis, is there still a restaurant named Fortune's Garden in Manhattan?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Set course back to the apartment first and then Fortune's Garden."

"Course is set Sir, would you like me to call and make a reservation for 7:30?"

"Yeah that's perfect thanks." The cycle roared to life and he took off down the road.

 

***** Jack *****  
At 7:20 he strolled into Fortune's Garden, gave a dashing smile to the seating hostess and sat down at the two person table he was led to near the middle of the restaurant. Casual formal atmosphere, lights dimmed, a jazz band playing gently in the corner by a small dance floor.

He had come to this restaurant every time he visited New York. It was practically tradition, though this was the first time he had come alone.

It wasn't too busy for a weekday, and the waiter was rather cute, it was harmless flirting, the boy blushed like he'd never been paid a complement before in his life. His drink had just arrived at the table and he had ordered his appetizer when a man was seated at the table next to him and his heart seemed to stop when he caught his eye.

There were about fifty explanations running through his head on how he had done it, but in the end they didn't matter. Steve was alive, seventy years from when he'd last seen him, and looking exactly the same except for a lack of uniform. There had been far stranger things happen in his life than a man out of time.

 

*****Steve*****

It wasn't possible. Seventy YEARS had come and gone so it couldn't be possible for the man at the table next to him to be the same man who had been going to bring him to this very restaurant back in World War Two. He couldn't, the man was dead. His eyes were playing tricks on him, his mind couldn't really recall Jack's face, there was a reasonable explanation somewhere that would make all of this make perfect sense. But the resemblance was uncanny. 

He could almost believe himself except the other man looked shocked too. But he wasn't going to make himself look the fool, what was he supposed to say? 'Hi you look just like this dead man I once stood up for a date seventy years ago, what's your name?'

He turned back to his menu, trying to put it out of his head, but that was easier said than done. He'd never been so glad to be served a glass of water in his life. But the break was over almost as soon as it had begun.

"Steve?"

And he couldn't deny it, the voice was the same, he noticed as he hitched in a breath, and suddenly Jack was standing in the gap between their tables, his hand only inches from his own. He told himself to breathe.

"Jack?" It sounded far more uncertain than he would have liked.

"Seems we were both late for our date apparently." He said with that same disarmingly charming grin that could make him lose all track of thought, and with that Jack took his drink off his own table and sat down with him at his own. Steve buried his face in his hands for a moment to try and clear his thoughts.

"Okay either you're real or I'm dreaming. Not really sure which one I'm hoping for here."

"Why is that?"

"Because dreams tend to end abruptly, and reality means explanations. Both can be really painful or complicated and I'm not sure I can really explain when I don't fully understand it myself."

"Alright, then how about just for tonight, there's no explanations required, it's just you and me, dinner, some wine, a little dancing over there in the corner, and maybe a stroll through the park, just having the date we'd planned a bit later than we meant to. How does that sound?"

Steve smiled. "Just about perfect actually."

 

*****Jack*****

They did have dinner, it was slightly awkward at first being as they had a time coming up with a 'safe' subject of conversation, but they navigated through the murky waters of everything they distinctly Weren't Talking About and finally came to rest on the subject of the past, specifically music they had loved from back in the day, once Jack realized that Steve had almost no reference to any current events. Unintentional time travel through a rift was looking more possible every minute.

The food was delicious and after the main course, he started to lead Steve out onto the dance floor. 

"What are you doing?"

"I said I was going to dance with you."

"I thought you were joking!"

"Why would I joke about that?"

"I uh, Jack, I can't dance, seriously."

"As in you know you're a bad dancer or you've just never learned?"

"Never learned. I-"

"Then that only means I get to teach you. Come on."

And Steve was pulled out onto the dance floor. He seemed a bit nervous, but came into Jack's arms easily enough as he was tugged the last few feet into his embrace, he even saw an adorable blush tint the Captain's cheeks as his hand drew across the small of his back and pulled them close together in a waltz pose. 

"See? You have natural grace, and are aware of your movements and surroundings. Not to mention military men are quite good at following orders and subtle bodily cues aren't they? All of that easily translates in dancing. Now hand on my shoulder, take my hand, and we are just going to move side to side. Whichever direction we go, take the foot that is following your body's movement and cross it behind the foot that leads as you turn your hip out to the side a bit and end with your weight on that foot. Now come back with the opposite foot. Side to side, side to side, nothing fancy, just the one movement. See? You're dancing."

"You are making it seem ridiculously easy."

"That's because it is. It's just two simple steps back and forth. Now let's try the box step. You move in a square, don't look at your feet, just eyes on mine and follow my lead. Outside foot always takes the first step of the set. Step forward, inside foot takes a side step, bring your feet together, now move backward, side, together. Again. Forward, side, together, backward, side, together. Now we just keep doing that, and then to spice it up, we turn a bit in a circle as we do it. Very good. See? You. Are waltzing. With me."

Steve's smile was real, Jack honestly wanted to kiss the man senseless right then and there, but knew Steve was a bit shy for that kind of public affection. The band had caught on very quickly and played them a waltz. 

The band had been bored just providing slow jazz atmosphere no one was listening to anyway, so when Jack asked they were more than happy to liven things up for them.

With his instruction he led Steve through some slower swing dances as well, keeping things where they might be familiar. Turns out the man subconsciously knew many of the steps to some degree because he'd been watching other people dance, he just hadn't participated. Jack figured Steve must have been self conscious, though the man obviously had no reason to be.

Steve seemed to come alive a bit and a huge smile broke out on his face as they worked out the steps, and Steve proved he was surprisingly strong, enough to pick Jack up without any effort. He had no problems with this and let Steve feel confident with his movements after seeming so out of place most of the night. They ended up getting a rousing bout of applause from the other diners.

They sat back down to share an absolutely sinful slice of rich chocolate cake layered with dark chocolate mousse, the whole thing covered in warm ganache and raspberry puree, with large dollops of fresh whipped cream on the side. Jack wanted to get absolutely wicked with that dessert and Steve, but he restrained himself, barely.

With dessert done and sipping after dinner drinks of coffee laced liberally with alcohol, it felt like second nature to be holding Steve's hand and delicately tracing the fingers with his own. They were both full and relaxed, and that's probably what loosens his tongue.

"If you could go back, would you?"

Part of his brain realizes this is technically on the Do Not Talk About list, but at this point he's beyond caring. They both know they are meeting 70 years from when they were supposed to and that neither one of them had aged a day in that time. The circumstances didn't matter, but they could still be honest with each other.

"Isn't there a saying somewhere about should have, would have, could haves?"

"I mean it, I know someone who could most likely get you back home if you want to go back. His whole job is to fix these little glitches."

"I thought time travel hadn't been invented yet."

Jack smiled. "On Earth it hasn't, but there's other places. I could contact him for you if you want."

"Then why haven't you gone back?"

"I'm not the same, I don't need to go back, I've already been there, lived through it, but people taken out of time, well that's different, most times you need to get put back."

Steve stared into his coffee mug as if it held all of the secrets of the universe.

 

*****Steve*****

There was a lump in his throat. Time travel, was anything out of the realm of possibility these days? Would he go back to his life, go back to war, and after the war then what? What would he do? Retire into obscurity, with all of this knowledge of the future? And if he went back, what would happen to his body buried in the ice, they would have no reason to find it and dig it out, and he wouldn't be able to help with the Avengers Initiative, who knows how that would make things turn out.

"Two months ago I would have jumped at the chance and never looked back, all of the friends I had are dead, this place may as well be a completely different world, heck Roosevelt was President last I knew, but now, well I went and did something important, and I can't risk that falling apart. I accepted I would have to make a place for myself, so that's what I have to try and do. Even if that means learning a bunch of new tricks and accepting that a cup of coffee can cost over five bucks these days. Besides, this right here could have gotten us thrown in jail back then, and I don't know about you, but I am rather enjoying myself right now."

Jack smiled. "Well then how about we go for a walk and just enjoy the evening and the fact this is becoming such a liberal thinking time?"

"I think that is a fantastic idea."

 

*****Jack*****

He paid the bill, and they went for a walk through Central Park, a place that hadn't changed too terribly much except to be better maintained these days. He really wanted to know the whole story, he wanted to know what Steve had done that was so important he would refuse to go back, but he had promised that no explanations were needed tonight, and he wasn't willing to break that. They didn't talk much, it was more of a hand in hand stroll with random observances of the city and how it had changed. He found himself unconsciously thinking of Ianto again, even though he was trying not to. He would have liked Steve, Ianto had liked honest people, he could even picture them as friends, they both had a certain air about them. Steve eventually noticed that his companion had gone introspective.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I lost someone recently, someone very special, and I think he would have liked you. This won't make any sense to you I know, but when you have to live knowing that everyone around you will eventually die one way or another, and that no matter what you'll still be there, unchanging, having to watch it happen and then pick yourself up and find a way to move on, you try not to get too emotionally attached to people, because it only makes it hurt more in the end. But every once in awhile, someone manages to find a chink and get themselves in anyway, and he was one of them. It's been a long time since it happened though, and I know that even if I tried to, he wouldn't let me go back and save him. He died for one of those stupidly noble reasons, and it was his own choice to do it, but that doesn't make it any easier. But I know if I could find a way to do it, even if it meant having someone else take his place, I probably would save him anyway, even though he'd be mad at me. I guess I'm just selfish like that."

They stopped walking and Steve turned to face him.

"That's not selfish Jack."

"It's not?"

"No, it's human."

And Steve leaned in and kissed him rather chastely, and he himself had been fighting off temptation most of the night, so it definitely didn't stay that way for long. It was a matter of moments before he was pressed back against a tree, desperate for contact, comfort, something to hold onto, and Steve didn't disappoint. He was caged in with Steve's body, his arms, and the tree, and it was a wonderful place to be. The man was much stronger than he looked, his arms were pure, hard corded muscle beneath his unassuming long sleeved shirt, Jack could feel it and it made him shiver. It was rare for him to have a more dominant male lover, one who wanted to wrap him up in big strong arms and put him wherever they wanted him. 

Steve didn't give off the chest beating alpha male vibe in any sense, but he was protective, very protective, and with those wonderful arms, it was tempting to have him lead things, especially if that's what he wanted. This kind of encounter was obviously new to him, and he wanted Steve to be as comfortable as possible. They didn't even have to go all the way tonight, he wanted to see more of Steve, find out more about him and what had happened to him. He didn't have any illusions that the man was immortal, but he knew that feeling of being one place and then waking up somewhere utterly different and being stuck there with no way back to what you knew and understood.

"I don't know where you're staying, but my place is about twenty minutes from the restaurant, if you want to come over." he offered with that winsome smile of his.

"Are you propositioning me for sex on the first date?" Steve said with a look of longing and adorably old fashioned scandalized understanding.

"If you want, but it's not required. Otherwise we can just go there to do a bit more of this, have a couple of drinks, watch a film, and maybe I can get you out of your shirt so I can trace those glorious muscles of yours with my hands and tongue if I'm lucky. I just want to spend more time with you, preferably alone."

"I like that idea. I left my motorcycle back at the restaurant, we can take that if you don't mind."

"You're asking me to straddle a thousand pounds of raw purring power while wrapping myself around a gorgeous specimen of humanity and nestling up tight against all those muscles I'm admiring... now why would I mind that?"

\--------------  
TBC?  
\--------------

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaand that's where I'm leaving it off for now. I had ideas of maybe Jack joining the Avengers, I'm sure it would be handy for them to have someone who can't fully die (and imagine him hitting on everyone). But yeah, if I continued it would be this idea and smut. Please tell me what you think!


End file.
